Dear (Hearing Clinic Manager),
I am contacting you in my capacity as a York University PhD Candidate to request your assistance with my dissertation. I am interested in completing a study with students with hearing loss. I want to understand the key components necessary for students to construct successful social relationships with teachers at school. This understanding is important, as a large amount of research has examined the importance of the teacher-student relationship as a contributing factor to student wellness, peer relationship development and academic success. I am also interested to get their parents’ perspective on how they perceive their child's relationships with their
elementary school teachers and what they did at home to promote relatedness. I would request that you distribute a web survey to parents who have a child:
• With any degree of hearing loss
• Uses spoken language in communication
• Attends a regular school (fully or partially mainstreamed)
with the understanding that there would be no identifying information requested from the students. York University’s Human Research Participant Committee (HRPC) approval will be provided to you before survey distribution begins. Once ethics approval has been received, I would contact you to give you more information about the survey and its distribution.
What I need from you is a short email of support stating that you would be willing to assist me with my research project. This email will be included with the submission to York University's HRPC so that they are aware that I have support in accessing the research sample I need.
Thank you for your consideration
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Appendix J: Student Web-Based Survey Link and Consent Form
Little is known about students with hearing loss and their relationship with their classroom teacher. I would like to ask you some questions about your experiences with your classroom teacher in elementary school. I will ask you to think about a teacher in grade one, two or three. If you agree to participate in this study you will be asked to complete the short survey below that will take approximately 15 minutes of your time. I will not ask you your name, or where you went to school.
You may refuse to participate, refuse to answer any questions on the survey, and you may discontinue your participation at any time.
The information obtained in this study will be used for my PhD project. All answers collected will be stored on password protected on computers. Please contact Dave Gordey if you have any questions.
By answering the following question, clicking on the word NEXT, and then completing and submitting the questionnaire, you indicate your consent to participate in the study. Thank you for participating in our survey. Your feedback is important.
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Appendix K: Parent Web-Based Survey Link and Consent Form
Dear Parent/Guardian
Little is known about students with hearing loss and their relationship with their classroom teacher. I would like to ask you some questions about your son or daughter with hearing loss, and their experiences with their classroom teacher in elementary school. I will ask you to think about their teachers in grade one, two and three.
If you agree to participate in this study you will be asked to complete the survey below, that will take approximately 15 minutes of your time. I will not ask you your name, or where your child went to school.
You may refuse to participate, refuse to answer any questions on the survey, and you may discontinue your participation at any time.
The information obtained in this study will be used for my PhD project. All answers collected will be stored on password protected on computers. Please contact Dave Gordey if you have any questions.
By answering the following question, clicking on the word NEXT, and then completing and submitting the questionnaire, you indicate your consent to participate in the study. Thank you for participating in our survey. Your feedback is important.
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Appendix L: Web-Based Survey Teacher Questionnaire
Please consider students with hearing loss you have taught in elementary school when answering these questions.
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Uncertain Agree Strongly Agree
1. Students with hearing loss were an easy addition to my class. 1 2 3 4 5 2. My students with hearing loss has/had an Individualized Education
Program (IEP).
1 2 3 4 5
3. If students had a problem at home, they were likely to ask for my help.
1 2 3 4 5
4. I would describe my relationship with students with hearing loss as positive.
1 2 3 4 5
5. Students with hearing loss were more challenging for me to work with than other students in my class.
1 2 3 4 5
6. My students with hearing loss had good communication skills. 7. Students with hearing loss performed similar to those with typical
hearing. 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5
8. Students shared with me things about his/her personal life. 1 2 3 4 5 9. I feel I have adequate time in my classroom to develop relationships
with all my students.
1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 10. Most of my students with hearing loss were very social. 1 2 3 4 5 11. I made accommodations for students with hearing loss in my
classroom.
1 2 3 4 5
12. The students with hearing loss turned to me for a listening ear or for sympathy.
1 2 3 4 5
13. My students with hearing loss tended to be loners. 1 2 3 4 5 14. Students depended on me for advice or help. 1 2 3 4 5 15. I am happy with my relationships with the students with hearing loss. 1 2 3 4 5
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16. Students with hearing loss got along well with their hearing peers. 1 2 3 4 5
General Information
Age:
Please circle one:
I taught students with hearing loss in grade:
I am: Female Male
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Appendix M: Web-Based Survey Student Questionnaire
Before we begin the survey, to stop computer-generated, automated responses, please answer these two questions:
Choose the sentence that does not belong in the following paragraph. (1) Eating a variety of nutritious foods is important for good health. (2) Fruits and vegetables provide daily vitamins.
(3) I like watching stock car racing on television.
(4) Protein from meat, dairy foods, or legumes is needed for muscle growth. (5) Fat intake should be limited.
(6) A proper diet is important.
Choose the option that best combines all the information in the following three sentences. I love basketball.
The Bears are my favorite team.
I hope they win the championship this year.
a). I love basketball, and I hope the Bears win the championship this year.
b). I love basketball and the Bears because I hope they win the championship this year. c). I love basketball and hope the Bears, my favorite team, win the championship this year. d). I love basketball, I love the Bears, my favorite team, I hope they win the championship
this year.
Thank you for answering those questions. Now we will begin the survey.
Think about what it felt like to be in grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, and answer the following questions.
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1 2 3 4 5
Never Almost Never Every Once in a While
Sometimes Always
1. I liked my classmates. 1 2 3 4 5
2. I could hear my teacher in the classroom. 1 2 3 4 5 3. My teachers helped me and wanted me to do well. 1 2 3 4 5 4. My teachers were too busy and had little time for students. 1 2 3 4 5 5. My classroom teachers listened to my ideas. 1 2 3 4 5 6. My classroom was a safe place to be.
7. My teachers were fair to me.
1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 8. My teachers had students they liked best. 1 2 3 4 5 9. I felt like I fit in at my elementary school. 1 2 3 4 5
10. My teachers understood my hearing loss. 1 2 3 4 5
11. I was ok asking my teachers for help. 1 2 3 4 5
12. I felt close to my teachers. 1 2 3 4 5
13. I got good grades in school. 1 2 3 4 5
14. I trusted my teachers. 1 2 3 4 5
15. I liked my classroom teachers. 1 2 3 4 5
16. I felt like I belonged in my class. 1 2 3 4 5
General Information
Age:
111 I am: Female Male
I will participate in an interview Yes No
The language my parents speak at home is: English Other___________ I started wearing a hearing aid. Cochlear implant, or bone anchored hearing aid when I was _____ years old.
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Appendix N: Web-Based Survey Parent Questionnaire
Think about your child and their experiences in grade one, grade two and grade three when answering these questions. At the end of the survey, you are welcome to write any additional comments you may have.
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Disagree
Disagree Uncertain Agree Strongly Agree
1. I practiced with my child how to interact with adults. Additional comments:
1 2 3 4 5
2. I felt that the teachers listened to my child. Additional comments:
1 2 3 4 5
3. The classroom teachers treated my child differently from those with typical hearing.
1 2 3 4 5
4. My child did not like elementary school. 1 2 3 4 5 5. My child shared his/her feelings about his/her teacher with me.
6. The teachers understood my child’s hearing loss.
1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 7. My child felt connected to his/her school. 1 2 3 4 5
8. All my child’s teachers have been great. 1 2 3 4 5
9. My child makes friends easily. 1 2 3 4 5
10. If my child needed help, he/she were likely to ask his/her teacher. 1 2 3 4 5 11. My child’s teachers supported all students in their classroom. 1 2 3 4 5
12. My child bonded with his/her teachers. 1 2 3 4 5
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14. My child did well in school. 1 2 3 4 5
15. My child felt safe in his/her classroom. 16. Additional Comments (Text Box)
1 2 3 4 5
General Information
Age:
Please circle one:
I am: Female Male
I will participate in an interview Yes No
The language we speak at home is primarily: English Other My child with hearing loss is currently in grade _______
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Appendix O: Teacher Interview Questions 1. Tell me what you know about hearing loss?
2. How important are your relationships with the students in your classroom? What
strategies do you use to develop relationships? Which students are the easiest to develop relationships with? Which are the most difficult?
3. How does your school administration or curriculum support opportunities for you to get to know your students?
4. Tell me about your experiences teaching students with hearing loss. How does their hearing loss affect the development of relatedness?
5. In the context of your classroom, how would you describe a successful student? How do you think hearing loss affects a student’s ability to achieve success?
6. What is the role of the parent in promoting relatedness? What recommendations would you make to parents of young children with hearing loss to encourage relationship development with you?
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Appendix P: Student Interview Questions
1. Tell me about your elementary school. What did you like about your school? What didn’t you like? Did you feel connected to your school?
2. Were there other students at your elementary school with hearing loss? Was that good or bad? Why?
3. What makes a good teacher?
4. Tell me about your favorite teacher you had in elementary school. Did your relationship with that teacher affect how well you behaved in class? How well you did in class? How you did your homework? Why?
5. Tell me about a teacher you did not like in elementary school. How did that relationship affect your studies? Your behaviour?
6. How did your relationship with your teacher affect your choice in friends in elementary school?
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Appendix Q: Parent Interview Questions
1. Tell me about your child’s experiences in elementary school. How did you prepare him/her to attend school?
2. How did your child behave when meeting his/her teachers for the first time in elementary school?
3. As a parent, did you teach your child about relationship building? How? 4. Tell me about your favorite teacher your son/daughter had/has.
5. Tell me about your least favorite teacher your son/daughter had/has.
6. Tell me about your experiences with your child’s teachers and their responses to your child’s hearing loss.
7. How did your child’s report card or IEP reflect their communication skills? Social skills? 8. Tell me about your family background.
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Appendix R: Audio-Recording Consent Form
As part of this research project, “Teacher-student relatedness: The importance of classroom relationships for children with hearing loss,” I would like to make an audio recording of your interview.
Please indicate below the uses of these audio recordings to which you are willing to consent. This is completely voluntary and up to you. In any use of the audio recording, your name will not be identified, but will be referenced by a combination of random letters and numbers You may request to stop the recording at any time or to erase any portion of your recording.
1. The audio recording can be studied by the researcher, David Gordey, for use in his research project.
Initials 2. The audio recording can be used for scientific publications.
Initials 3. The audio recording can be reviewed at by Pam Millett, PhD supervisor at York
University.
Initials
You have the right to request that the recording be stopped or erased in full or in part at any time.
You have read the above description and give your consent for the use of audio recording as indicated above.
__________________________________ ________________________________